[Politics] Despite the postponement of his research, the compulsory conscription law in Iraq raises controversy

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Today, Sunday, the Iraqi parliament decided to postpone the first reading of the draft law on military service (compulsory military service) to the next session. And the science service stopped working in Iraq about 20 years ago. It is not clear whether the bill will win the support of a majority of MPs.

In an interview with the Iraqi News Agency, Representative Sakfan Sindi, a member of the Parliamentary Defense Committee, said that "legislation of the (compulsory service) law is necessary because there are risks related to terrorism in the country."

The law, if passed, obliges every young Iraqi between the ages of 18 and 35 to enlist for a maximum period of 18 months, and a minimum of 3 months, according to the person's educational attainment.

The Security and Defense Committee explained that the implementation of the draft law on military service will take place after its legislation and two years after its publication in the Iraqi Gazette, which means that there is plenty of time to prepare all its financial requirements and set up the camps.

She added that those joining the service receive a monthly salary ranging between 600,000 and 700,000 dinars (about $480).

On the other hand, some people are exempted from it according to certain conditions, especially the only son or breadwinner of the family.

Soon, the science service bill was criticized even by lawmakers.

In an interview with AFP, Yazidi MP Saeb Khadr considered that "the militarization of society will not create love for the homeland."

In a country where 4 youth out of 10 suffer from unemployment, former Minister of Electricity Louay al-Khatib saw in a tweet that it would be more useful, instead of approving the compulsory service law, “to provide vocational training centers (for youth) and make them obligatory so that they acquire skills that will help them develop their competencies and involve them in reconstruction projects. Iraq".

On the other hand, Fahd Mishaan Turki, a deputy from the Sunni Advance Alliance, believes that "serving the flag will enable us to eliminate unemployment and will make the young man feel loyal to the homeland."

a national necessity
While some considered it a national necessity to prepare a young generation capable of deflecting any security risk from Iraq, others saw it as a new door to corruption and would cost the state huge sums of money amid widespread rejection of what they described as "the militarization of society."

The hashtag #compulsory_recruitment and #no_for_compulsory_recruitment are issued on social media platforms in Iraq.

 

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